| By :
Wiley Long
Health insurance for Tennessee will offer children more by the first of 2012. Policies issued or renewed after January 1, 2012 will cover hearing aids for children. That has been shown to dramatically improve performance in school. Tennessee Legislature Passes Hearing Aid Assistance For Children The bill that provides that benefit, which passed 82-12, covers the first hearing aid and a new one every three years until a child becomes 18 based on certification from an audiologist or doctor that the child's hearing has deteriorated significantly. Despite pressure from the National Federation of Independent Business to kill the bill, few members voted against it: Republican representatives Mark White, Vance Dennis and Andy Holt were among those opposing the bill. The National Federation of Independent Business had emailed all the legislators requesting that they oppose the bill accompanied by a threat to notify the group's members before the next election about reps. who voted for it. Minimal Increase In Tennessee Health Insurance Premiums Is Expected The bill's sponsor, Republican Richard Montgomery, said the new benefit will only increase Tennessee health insurance premiums by a couple of cents, at most. That's a small price to pay to help children succeed in school. Even mild hearing loss can cause significant educational problems. It's not uncommon for children to be born with inner ear problems that produce minimal hearing loss, but ear infection is the most common cause of such minimal hearing loss. Learning disabilities frequently follow a series of middle ear infections that occur over a period ranging from six months to a year. Since a small loss in hearing may pass unnoticed during a regular screening at school, not all children are properly diagnosed to get the help they need. Health Insurance For Tennessee Will Offer More Help With Health Care Reform There's even more assistance in the future for Tennessee's next generation. Every year before the Affordable Care Act became law, families were denied Tennessee health insurance coverage for their children who had an illness or a pre-existing condition. Health care reform prevents insurance companies from refusing to cover children under age 19 who have pre-existing conditions. In addition, insurers will no longer be permitted to exclude certain benefits that relate to a child's pre-existing condition. Another provision of health care reform allows parents to keep young adult children on their Tennessee health insurance policy until the child's 26th birthday, as long as the child is not offered coverage through employment. Changes For Tennessee Health Insurance Prices Are Coming In The Future While Tennessee did receive a temporary one-year waiver so Tennessee health insurance plans can continue to provide substandard benefits, plans are still required to meet the minimal national coverage standards at a later date. With many plans currently providing state citizens less coverage than the Affordable Care Act mandates, the waiver was deemed necessary to prevent workers from losing the only health plan currently available to them. By 2014, the state is still required to have a Tennessee health insurance exchange that offers standardized coverage. Another provision of health care reform provides government subsidies to give people with low incomes access to health care coverage. Until then, the best way to keep premium costs low is to run Tennessee health insurance quotes on a range of health plans offered by different insurance companies. The Internet makes that possible by offering online information from both insurers and independent brokers, which let you see quotes from multiple insurance companies with just one search.
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